Bino

One of my favorite spots in San Francisco is Golden Gate Park, a mere eight minutes walk from where I used to live. Some guidebooks cite this rectangular piece of land as one of the must-sees in the city, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, its location away from the main tourist areas makes it less frequented by tourists.

While most locals wouldn’t be caught dead near many of the city’s top attractions – for example, walking around Fisherman’s Wharf, visiting Lombard’s “Crooked Street” or riding one of those touristy cable cars are no-nos for San Franciscans; Golden Gate Park today is a living, functioning landmark which is visited by tourists and locals alike. As a 1000 acre park that is 3 miles long, Golden Gate is larger than New York’s Central Park and dare I say, more varied. Aside from the usual trees and park benches that are mainstays of city parks anywhere in the world, Golden Gate houses a music concourse, museums, windmill, botanical greenhouse, beach chalet plus a roaming ground for bison.

Walking from one end of the park to another is possible, although tiring. I ended up walking at least 4 hours in order to see all the main sights. From the western end, I started at the windmill as most people do. A curious sight in San Francisco, it was actually built in 1903 as a functional supplier of water.

windmill at the park

the bisons have been here since 1891

From the windmills moving eastward, the next stop is usually the bison paddock, which contain these grazing animals normally associated to the United States. A number of artificial lakes are also located in this section of the park, including Stow Lake and the man-made island in the middle.

the japanese tea garden

Towards the eastern side of the park is the public Japanese Tea Garden, reputedly the oldest Japanese garden in the United States. The five-acre enclosure is a chargeable area, at $5 a pop.

conservatory of flowers

flower beds

The main highlight of the park is probably the grand, white-colored conservatory. It is the oldest building within the compound. During summer, the main lawn facing the greenhouse is filled with elaborately-designed flowerbeds.

de young museum inside the park

I was fortunate to be in San Francisco when the De Young Museum was opened right after the new building was completed. They offered free admission as well as souvenirs to the visitors during the first week. There is a viewing deck at the topmost floor that has good views of the park’s long expanse.

street performers during museum launch

SF Botanical Gardens

Other activities: biking, rollerblading, rent a boat, play frisbee, enjoy a free concert

How to get there: Take Bus 5 from downtown San Francisco and get off at Fulton Street. The bus goes through the whole length of the park.

There was a time when I resorted to collecting in-flight magazines of every airline I used just so I can check out their route maps and plan my future trips accordingly. It’s hard to believe but even during the internet age, many airlines initially did not post their route maps on their websites; leaving prospective passengers guessing how to get from Point A to Point B.

Later on, I discovered that Wikipedia had a fairly reliable list of destinations for almost all operating passenger aircraft carriers. While the information was exhaustive, it lacked one crucial element. It still did not state Point A to Point B destinations, the best it could do was provide a list of all destinations served by various carriers.

Then came Openflights, which provides a wealth of information for people who have trips in mind. I can simply type any airport code in the search field (i.e. SIN) and it generates all the direct routes from that airport on the map, complete with distance and flight duration. Alternatively, I can input any airline and it will show all the routes being served. As of now, it does not show flight schedules – but even then, Openflights is a very handy tool for those who want to plan their trips efficiently.

a sample query for London Heathrow Airport which generated over 500+ direct routes

“Ola!” I had just landed at Macau airport and that was the first thing I said as I greeted the immigration officer who took my passport for inspection. It had been only a few days since I left Dili and there were still a few Portuguese phrases that had not gone to my brain’s recycle bin. Traveling to another city where Portuguese was the official language, I thought that my limited knowledge might still come in handy.

Dead silence. The immigration officer neither looked at me nor gave any semblance that he acknowledged my greeting. At first, I thought he was just being uptight in the way most immigration officers anywhere in the world usually are. He handed back my passport after a few minutes and I said “Obrigado” (thank you) to which he flatly ignored me. He really had no idea that I was talking to him.

all the signs are in chinese and portuguese but it’s useless to know the portuguese name as 99% of the people won’t understand if you ask for directions

During my stay in Macau, I had encountered more of such problems. Mind you, I learned my lesson from the airport and no longer used Portuguese outside. It didn’t matter that all the signs – from the restaurants to the buildings and streets – were in Portuguese, 99% of the city’s population could not understand them. English was also useless. Fine, Macau was never under the influence of the Anglophone world so that”s an excuse there. What was actually startling was that most of the local people also could not understand Mandarin – their national language for heaven’s sake! Some might argue that it’s only been 10 years since this small plot of land returned to the arms of the motherland (China) but Hong Kong, which has a similar recent history, sees a lot of fluent Mandarin speakers. Most locals in Macau are still monolingual up to today, and know only Cantonese.

Despite this, I find Macau to be the most European-looking of Asian cities. The territory has lots of winding back alleys, pastel-colored churches and buildings with ornate exteriors that are well-preserved due to the UNESCO World Heritage designation. One good thing to do while on a trip to Macau is to get lost exploring the cobblestone walkways.

except for the motorists, this scene could have been somewhere in Europe or Latin America

The free maps found in guesthouses and hotels usually have a few walking tour suggestions which are worth trying. These usually start in Largo de Senado and end at the southern tip of the peninsula. I did this on my first day there. My favorite stops were Guia Lighthouse which has a great view of the city, St. Joseph’s Church with its ornate facade and the Leal Senado (Loyal Senate).

the charming largo de senado

largo de sao domingos – just a few steps away from largo de senado

ruins of st. paul – perhaps the most well-known among macau’s attractions

guia lighthouse

st. joseph’s church

Macau has dozens of churches even though less than 10% of the people of Macau are Christians. Though well-designed and brightly painted, most are poorly attended by followers and mainly cater to tourists.

A visit to Taipa Village south of the peninsula is also a highly recommended stop on any visit to Macau. Many good restaurants serving Portuguese and Macanese fare are located in this area, and Taipa is generally not as crowded as the peninsula.

carmel church

villa de taipa

Overall, I believe Macau deserves more than just a daytrip from Hong Kong. Doing the cultural walk around the territory alone takes up one full day. Those interested in the casinos will find themselves preoccupied for one extra day at the very least. Knowing a bit of Cantonese can come in handy.

As an extra tip, do change your Hong Kong Dollars to Macau Pataca. The exchange rate is about 1.03 Pataca = 1.00 HKD. All establishments do accept Hong Kong dollars but they are taken on a 1:1 basis so might as well save 3% by converting it.

My trip to East Timor required me to have a considerable transit time in the island of Bali in Indonesia. It was a great stopover point, as the island offered so much variety for any type of traveler. There are numerous beaches, majestic volcanoes, old temples and a culture that uniquely belongs to the 3.5 million people inhabiting the island. It is no surprise that Bali is the most popular of Indonesia’s 17,000+ islands and has gained international, first name familiarity. People rarely say “Bali, Indonesia” and simply utter the mellifluous sounding “Bali.” The name is synonymous with relaxation, and rightly so.

rice terraces in Ubud

The flight to Bali from Singapore took about two and a half hours. The plane touched down with the air stewardess chirping – “we hope you enjoy your holiday in Bali,” indicating that the island is a purely leisure destination. The Ngurah Rai International Airport reflected this mentality – the terminal was made to resemble a traditional Balinese temple with gamelan music blaring from the speakers to boot. It reminded me of Angkor Airport in Cambodia, except that the former looked just a bit less touristy.

gunung kawi – monuments carved from the rock

After clearing immigration, I got my backpack and went straight to the Merpati office to buy my ticket for East Timor. After this, I was off to Ubud where I decided to stay for the night. I made a detour before reaching my guesthouse and stopped by the Elephant Cave and Gunung Kawi. Though billed as part of the island’s top attractions, I was a bit disappointed. Both paled in comparison with the ruins in Central Java, not that they were fair comparisons to begin with. On the bright side, there were some picturesque rice terraces on the way down in Gunung Kawi and tourists could still see glimpses of traditional life.

my room for $10 a night

I then checked in at my guesthouse – Teba House. My choice of accommodation was a simple, no frills option. The room had nothing but a bed, small cabinet and table, as well as an attached bathroom but nothing else apart from that. What blew me away however, was the personalized level of service which I don’t get even in better lodgings. I was on a first-name basis with the owners as well as the staff. They were also very helpful in giving me suggestions on places to see and things to try.

banana pancakes for breakfast – a specialty in Bali

the inner courtyard of the guesthouse

I left for East Timor early the next morning, but returned 4 days later. On my return, I first went to Kuta – perhaps the most touristy spot in the island. Its beaches, though nothing spectacular, offered waves that are good for surfing. It is also an excellent transit point for tourists on the cheap who couldn’t be bothered hiring a private car or taxi to take them farther afield. I was one of these people, and I took the Perama bus to Ubud (1.5 hours for 50,000 rupiah). Inside the bus, I chanced upon a solo traveler from China who was struggling to ask the bus driver in English about her hotel. I helped her, mustering whatever basic Chinese I know and translated her conversation with the driver. We ended up traveling together later that night and the next day, sharing a car which brought us to Taman Ayun, the scenic Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple and Tanah Lot for sunset.

catching a wave in kuta

pura ulun danu bratan temple on a lake

we arrived at tanah lot in time for a ceremony called Odalan

one of the many art shops in bali

ramayana ballet in ubud

the balinese are very spiritual people. here they are making their way to tanah lot to leave their offerings

I woke up early on my second day in East Timor and said goodbye to Stefanie as I planned to catch the bus to Baucau, the country’s second largest town. Some people had warned me against taking their public transportation, suggesting that it was extremely uncomfortable. But as I was traveling alone, I had no other choice if I wanted to go outside of Dili.

at cape fatucama, in dili

I had the taxi driver drop me off at Becora, where buses to Baucau departed from. It was a dusty station located in a ramshackled part of town (I later came to realize that many of the city’s roads away from the center are nothing more than dirt tracks). I got there just in time as the bus, already filled up, was just about to depart. All the warnings about East Timor’s buses turned out to be true as passengers were stuffed like sardines inside the vehicle. I was seated in between a nun and a farmer, and could barely move. The rickety bus had no aircon and no other amenities aside from the speakers that blared loud, reggae-type Timorese music. Some passengers opted to stand the whole journey (3.5 hours) to pay half-fare while others stood by the (open) door, their hands clenched to the outside handles in the same way they do it with jeepneys in Manila. It was pretty remarkable they could handle it for three straight hours without ultimately falling into the roadside.

tour de timor mural at mercado municipal ruins

The bus had obviously seen better days, and it must have broken down ten times during our journey. For all its shortcomings, the ride included a lot of scenic views of jagged hills falling into the blue sea, rice fields and pastel-colored churches. We passed by several beaches that were more impressive than the ones in Dili, and it’s a shame I didn’t get the chance to stop by.

my bus to baucau… packed like sardines

One of the few passengers who could speak English chatted me up. A native of Mt. Matebian (East Timor’s 2nd highest peak), Atheno was taking a few courses in Dili. He also told me about his student days in Yogyakarta, Indonesia where he previously received a scholarship. He was a nice fellow, and offered to show me around Baucau when we landed. The bus dropped us off at Baucau’s new town, which is a drab area with no points of interest. We had to take a mikrolet (small bus) to the old town, where many interesting sights were located.

at the pousada de baucau, the town’s “poshest” hotel

I made sure to stop by the Mercado Municipal ruins – a fine example of colonial Portuguese architecture, Pousada de Baucau – said to be the most charming place to stay in East Timor as well as the natural spring located near the town center. I had lunch at Restaurante Amalia, probably the only place resembling an eatery in Baucau. After the meal, I parted ways with Atheno- he was going off to Matebian – and I was left alone in that strange town. I had planned to go to Osolata, a fine white sand beach 6km north of the town, but mikrolets were no longer running by that time in the afternoon so I just wandered a bit around Baucau. I had no idea where I was going to stay for the night. For $60, I found the Pousada to be above my budget. I managed to find a place to stay for $30 – still above my budget but it was the cheapest place I could find. The Albegaria Planalto was a simple 8-room hotel at the edge of a plateau and owned by a bishop. When I “checked-in,” I found out there only 2 other guests (both UN workers). I was the only tourist. The manager, Albert, was an amiable fellow. I rode his motorcycle that evening when I went back to Amalia in old town for dinner. It was a wonderful experience traversing Baucau’s zigzagged roads with the cool sea breeze.

staring at the sun in Baucau

The next morning I took off for Dili, onboard the dreaded bus again. This time it was worse. People freely smoked inside the vehicles and it was suffocating. The bus was once again packed like sardines, and to top it all off, a live pig was tied to the roof, squealing and shaking the whole time. I was so relieved when we reached Dili and I asked the driver to drop me off at Caicoli, near the city center. This time, I decided to stay somewhere better and checked in at Hotel Oriental. For $40 a night, I got an airconditioned room with TV but it was still way behind western standards as it did not even come with a toilet and the room only looked half-cleaned. I stopped at a nearby warung (Indonesian cafeteria) for a filling Padang-style lunch for only $2 and ventured to see the other parts of Dili after that.

the xanana gusmao reading room in lecidere

I visited the tais market, where they had local souveniers for sale. I also walked all the way to Lecidere, where the Xanana Gusmao Reading Room as well as Nobel Prize winner Bishop Belo’s residence are located. From there, I grabbed a cab to Areia Branca beach, about 8 minutes drive. Despite its proximity to the city center, the area was still relatively underdeveloped. A few beachside bars and huts were available and I was so relieved to see that it wasn’t over commercialized.

woman weaving tais

It was there that I chanced upon this nice Filipino family who were swimming by the beach. I knew because I heard them talking in Tagalog. We exchanged hellos and before I knew it, I was asked to join them. They were from Couples from Christ and they clued me in on the local situation. It surprised me to learn that there was a large Filipino community in East Timor. I was told that Dili had several Filipino restaurants (even beating Singapore). Since I was leaving the next day, they even gave me an impromptu despedida (farewell party) right by the beach. I couldn’t have felt more at home.

at areia branca beach

I didn’t do much the next day as I was flying back to Bali that afternoon. Before leaving for the airport, I dropped by Arte Moris – an art gallery featuring works by local Timorese artists. The art mostly revolved around similar themes – agriculture, rural life and crocodiles (highly respected in Timorese culture). Arte Moris also doubles as a residence for these talented group of people, and one of them showed me around their studios within the many buildings inside. After this, I was off to the airport once again for my flight out of the country, leaving the dusty streets of Dili for now.

artist at work in arte moris

arte moris

All in all, I could say it was a unique trip. I wasn’t so much enamored by any scenery or historic building as I was with the warm people of East Timor. I believe the country is greatly misunderstood and deserves a visit by travelers doing the Southeast Asian trail. Although it does not offer luxury or comfort, it presents something different – and that is the discovery of a proud culture untainted by kitsch or mass tourism.

More than a week ago, I took a spur of the moment trip to East Timor. This 10-year old country is probably the least known in Southeast Asia, and everyone – from the manager of the hostel during my transit in Bali to other travelers I met in Indonesia who didn’t even know there was such a country – couldn’t help but wonder why I wanted to go there. East Timor has never been in my priority list of destinations, and until a few months ago, I didn’t even think I would go there. Last July, I hatched up a personal goal to visit each of the 11 countries in Southeast Asia and it was for this strange, if not childish reason that I went.

map showing East Timor’s location

Although I am not particularly proud of the reason why I went or the timing in which I made my journey, I am glad that I did visit this relatively isolated, often misconstrued country that only gets 19,000 tourists per year. East Timor may be extremely impoverished, war torn and lacking in tourist infrastructure, but I can say that those who visit are ultimately rewarded with the nation’s natural and relatively unspoiled beauty, warm and friendly people as well as cultural variety.

the magnificent view from the Jesus Christ statue

I booked my ticket to Dili, East Timor’s capital upon landing in Bali Airport. East Timor has air links with just 3 destinations (the others are Singapore and Darwin) and flying through Bali is the cheapest option. I found that it is usually okay to buy tickets on short notice except for weekends when NGO workers in East Timor may decide to fly to Bali for leisure trips. Before boarding, I met this Filipino guy who was flying to do some rural development consulting in East Timor. He gave me his contact details and asked for mine just in case I got affected by possible instability – but he was quick to add that East Timor was generally safe despite its bad reputation. The flight to Dili from Bali took about 1.5 hours and was largely uneventful except for some nice views of Indonesia’s volcanic islands along the way.

on the way to cristo rei…

As the plane was making its descent, the brown rolling hills of East Timor’s northern coast came into view. Before I knew it, the plane landed at Dili’s Nicolau Lobato Airport. The airport looked very similar to other airports except that the security presence was very much evident. Helicopters and other small planes carrying the UN logo were parked aplenty at the runway, and policemen from all over the world (Philippines included) scrutinized us as we made our way to the arrival hall.

Cristo Rei, Dili

I took a taxi upon exiting the airport and went straight to East Timor Backpackers Guesthouse, reputed to be the only backpacker accommodation in the country. The taxi ride on the way was a testament to the laidback and carefree culture of the country, as the taxi driver stopped midway to pick up his friends who were traversing in the same direction. I thought at first that I was getting mugged right then and there in my first taxi ride in Dili but I later realized that it was just a normal part of day-t0-day life in Timor.

a rotunda in dili

The rooms and bathrooms at the backpackers place were on a sharing basis – all I got was a bed. At US$12, I thought it was pricey but then most things in East Timor are expensive anyway. I literally just dropped my bags and went straight to Cristo Rei, said to be the second largest Jesus statue in the world after Rio’s and probably the most recognizable landmark in East Timor. The statue was perched high on a hill, but the climb was not so bad and I passed several stations of the cross along the way. Just before making my last climb, one of the construction workers in the site called me and indicated that he was going to climb with me. We chatted a bit and I later learned that he was earning $4 a day carrying bricks back and forth to the hill top as they were renovating the site. I reached the summit in no time and found the statue freshly painted. The construction worker revealed that China was shouldering the costs, and there was indeed a Chinese guy surveying the base. The view from the top was magnificent – I could see a beach with clear blue waters to the east and west, as well as towering mountains in the center.

examples of colonial architecture – the university in dili (top) and the palacio do governo (bottom)

Going down from Cristo Rei, I went to Dili’s downtown. For all the city’s shortcomings, it does have a charming waterfront. The water was clear and there was a beach just a few minutes away from the main square. Dili has several notable buildings with obvious Portuguese influences such as the Palacio do Governo (Government House) and Casa Europa. A lot of foreigners, mostly aid workers from the UN and other NGO’s, prowl the streets of Dili. That may be true but the locals couldn’t help but stare at me, with a camera-strapped-around-my-neck look that screamed tourist. Despite this, nobody did try to con me or solicit something from me, which is a welcome departure from my experiences in other more touristy countries. In fact, I found the locals to be pretty honest. I unknowingly dropped my camera case once and someone nearby alerted me of the mishap.

colonial building in dili

After making the rounds in Dili’s center, I went to an Indian restaurant beside the guesthouse for dinner. It was already the cheapest place I could find at that time but it still cost me $4.50. After dinner, I called in an early night and went back to the guesthouse. During that night, there were only 2 other guests – a German girl named Stefanie and an Indonesian man. I chatted up quite a bit with the former, whose bed was just beside mine. Apparently, she’s done the whole bit around Nusa Tenggara – starting with Bali, then to Lombok, Flores and West Timor. Although she admitted that the other islands may have better scenery, she told me she was staying in East Timor longer. She loved the country so much she even volunteered to do some charity work in Oecussi (enclave of East Timor). We ended up exchanging travel stories the rest of the night, although mine certainly were nowhere as adventurous as hers.

tree on the road to cristo rei

To be continued…

How to get there:
Dili, the capital of East Timor, is not as isolated as one may think. Direct flights are available from Singapore, a major transportation hub, as well as from Bali and Darwin, Australia. I took the flight from Bali which is usually the most economical option by air. Otherwise, the cheapest option – if you don’t mind traveling for several hours – is to land in Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia and take a long bus ride to Dili.

Since it’s that time of the year again, I thought I’d do a Halloween-related post to heighten the atmosphere here a bit. This entry takes me back to the public Halloween costume party in Castro Street in San Francisco, USA. Once considered to be the leading Halloween celebration in the country, it was a well-known city event from the 1970’s up until it was canceled in 2007 due to security issues.

one of the tamer pictures, as a teaser

I had the chance to see the second to the last Halloween celebration in the Castro. This mainstay in San Francisco’s gay district was immensely popular with city folks of all backgrounds as well as tourists. The 2005 Halloween party was loud, boisterous, shocking, funny and kitschy yet we as spectators just could not help but watch.

After dinner on the 31st of October, me and my roommate took the bus from our dorms to the Castro. All I had on was a lame postman costume but it was alright. Some of our local friends had suggested that we check out the quirky San Francisco style of celebrating Halloween. And yeah, it was really eye-opening.

Pictures after the jump. Some of the pictures may be considered offensive, so be aware of that. Hope you view with an open mind as I did!

Taking a road trip around the US is a highly recommended way to explore this massive country. It may be a more time-consuming affair but I believe it’s the way to go for travelers who want to see what the American heartlands are like. Road travel in America is convenient, (mostly) safe, and fun. From my experience, there’s always something interesting to see at every exit (trust me, there’s always a sign that advertises the nearest tourist trap).

Back when I was still a student in San Francisco, we rented a car one weekend and drove all around Central California without any itinerary or idea of what we could see. It actually turned out more fun that way, as it was easy to get around and the journey itself was very pleasant. Our route was as follows – We started in San Francisco in the morning, then drove to Daly City to pick up lunch, then drove south via Highway 1 but not before stopping by Santa Cruz’s beach and its historic boardwalk. We drove further down and upon reaching Pebble Beach near Monterey, we took the 17-mile scenic drive which included the lone cypress, and a brief stop at the affluent town of Carmel. We spent the night at this drive-in hotel in Pacific Grove – a town bordering Monterey. The following morning, we explored Monterey’s downtown, with a stop at their aquarium and Cannery Row. Then, it was a 2 hour drive via Highway 101 to Gilroy and its humongous outlet store complex. We drove further north and spent the night back in San Francisco (though we planned to use the car for one more day). Woke up early the next day and drove up past the Golden Gate Bridge to the densely forested Muir Woods. We then made our way up north to Petaluma and had an early dinner there. Drove back to San Francisco afterwards, and took the scenic route via Lombard “zigzag” street and Twin Peaks before returning our car back to the rental company. Our route map is shown below:

Just a tip for those who are planning to rent cars for such trips, it’s very easy to negotiate with rental companies. Discount coupons are usually easy to find in the internet (just make sure they’re not expired) by entering “name-of-company coupons.” In our booking, we managed to get a discount for our 3-day rental plus a car upgrade which wasn’t a bad deal at all.

Some pictures of the trip.

santa cruz

It was low season during our visit so there weren’t many people at the beach. Many of the attractions at the boardwalk were likewise closed.

cypress point lookout in the 17-mile scenic drive

There is a small charge (per car) to enter the 17-mile scenic drive, but it’s worth it! There are more than a dozen points of interest within that stretch.

the lone cypress

The lone cypress is the main attraction in the 17-mile scenic drive, and is a staple in postcards and brochures featuring Monterey and surrounds.

the golden state theater in monterey

Many of California’s historic theaters were built with a Spanish-influenced baroque facade (San Francisco’s Castro Theater is another example), and this one in Monterey is no exception.

muir woods

Many of the trees in the conservation area are several hundreds or more than a thousand years old. The area is so densely forested that light only penetrates in narrow beams such as this one.

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Who Wanders Here?

Hi, I'm Bino, a part-time wanderer and a Singapore travel blogger In this site, I share with you my top travel tips. Along the way, I also provide travel guides to compelling destinations, recommendations on awesome food to try and impressive hotels to stay! Read More…